Which Do You Prefer School Uniforms, Strict Dress Code, or Free Choice?

When I was in school years ago (no need to actually state how many) the only kids that wore school uniforms were those in catholic or private schools. They were unheard of in public schools. As a child of course I was happy I had my choice of clothes and wasn’t told what to wear. I loved shopping with my mother each school year and picking out “cool” outfits.

It is amazing how things change when you become an adult. An adult that has to purchase these “choice of clothes” for a child, and listen to how John has these shoes, and Jane has those jeans and I want them too! Thankfully the only time I’ve really dealt with the “keeping up with the Joneses” was when it came to shoes. The boys are picky about their shoes. My daughter though at the age of 6 is already starting to show brand favoritism (SIGH).

In elementary school in our area our children wear uniforms. No expensive, school logo, preppy uniforms but uniforms just the same. In most schools the children are allowed to wear 2 or three different color of bottoms (khaki, navy blue, and black). These bottoms can be slacks, shorts, or skirts. However no cargo pants, mini skirts, or cut offs. At our particular school the children can wear any solid color polo shirt. No patterns, no logos (except school logos), just solid colors. I found the uniforms in elementary school to be a gift to parents. It was easy to purchase 5-7 pieces of each clothing tops and bottoms, socks, shoes, and a belt. No fighting with your child on what was appropriate or how to dress.

Once you enter middle school the uniforms become a thing of the past. In fact the first two years of my oldest son’s middle school years they had a lenient dress code. The normal shorts must be a certain length, no holes, your pants must be pulled up. My son started out wearing jeans and a t-shirt and slowing moved into wear athletic shorts and wrinkled shirts. The kid looked like he rolled out of bed and went to school. When you wear athletic shorts t-shirts rarely look right with them.

However despite my feelings on his appearance when in 8th grade the discussion was had regarding instituting uniforms I was very much against it. I did feel at the ages of 11-13 kids should be allowed a little more individuality. Also the thought of buying a ton of uniforms only to be discarding the following year because he would be entering high school was not at all appealing. As the 7th grade year came to an end a decision was made. It wasn’t that uniforms would be enforced but that a strict dress code would take the place of the lenient one. My son had to wear collared shirts with no inappropriate language or huge logos. However unlike elementary they could be striped, patterned, have images, etc. Their pants had to zip and button, no elastic waist band pants. While my son was not at all happy I found that I LOVED the new dress code. My son was forced back to jeans and now a collared shirt. I thought he looked very nice when he left for school in the morning.

Now my son is in high school and it appears the dress code their has reverted back to and worse then the old one in middle school. I attended orientation with my son. I heard all the do’s and don’ts on clothing however it wasn’t until I started dropping my son off in the mornings that I noticed the dress code was not taken very seriously. I witnessed girls trotting onto campus with shirts barely covering their mid sections. Boys wearing white tank tops (you know the undershirt kind). Girls wearing flip flops that looked like they were purchased at the dollar store. Now living in Florida I’m all for wearing flip flops we have some very nice looking flip flops but the kind you wear to the beach, not really a good shoe to be wearing to school. I saw girls in skin tight leggings with a normal t-shirt, boys in sweat suits.

I never would have thought I would be a parent that was pro uniforms and strict dress codes but today I am just that. I miss the days when my son looked put together and clean cut when he walked out the door to school. Thankfully the only change is he has ditched the collared shirts and replaced them with t-shirts but has stuck with the jean shorts. I just wish that the high school would take a more active role in the dress code like the middle school did. How you look is the first impression one makes when entering a room.

About Colleen Shibley

Colleen Shibley Mother to 3 kids, wife to an awesome & thoughtful husband, beach lover, book reader, working woman by day, and blogger by night. Blogging from sunny South Florida passionate about travel, good food, entertainment, and enjoying family time...[Read More...]

Comments

I have very strong feelings about freedom of expression. Young people only have very few ways that they can show who they really are and one of them is by the way that they dress. So, I’m AGAINST dress codes or uniforms.

We home school and definitely allow our boys freedom of expression in their dress. I’m sure other adults don’t understand why I don’t police their clothing because my middle son especially can come up with some interesting outfits.

For a school situation, I like uniforms, though. It takes some of the distraction of fashion away.

I like that my daughter has a school uniform. I don’t have to worry that she won’t fit in with the clothes she’s wearing. On the other hand, my mom hates it. She wants to buy her new clothes for school that are fun and cute.

i can see the pros and the cons to having school uniforms. I grew up being able to choose my clothes and so I do not know any better. However with that said, I can see how having a set uniform would have made it less stressful when picking out clothes to wear; especially if I did not have the most up to date fashions. ;)Gina

I’m in favor of a dress code. I think it eliminates a lot of problems at school, and makes getting dressed for school a breeze! Works for me because when my daughter is ready for school, she will be attending a private school with a dress code. She can express her freedom of expression after school or on weekends.

But we certainly don’t live in a perfect world. I am all for standards and no exceptions nowadays.

I *hate seeing boy’s underwear. I work in the high school and once told a boy to pull up his pants – that I didn’t want to see his underwear. He turned around and said “Who are you? You are not my mother!” So that’s my major complaint/reasoning behind wanting uniforms or stricter dress codes for the boys. Now for the girls…about 25% of them show more cleavage than I personally would ever dream of!

As if that wasn’t bad enough in and of itself – there’s an strong undercurrent of teenage hormones floating through the air at all times. I swear you can almost smell it some days. So…how can that be anything but distracting? Also, I think by not curtailing it in our girls, we’re condoning them objectifying themselves – intentionally or subconsciously.

I think the idea of collared shirts is great because I don’t think I’ve seen low cut collared shirts for girls, so it’d be pretty clear what to expect.

I always thought Uniforms would be great, kids can get so worked up about having the popular clothes and can stand out if they don’t have them. I know my sons have both begged me for certain brands and sometimes we just cannot afford to get them.

It is a toss-up with me. My kids attend a school that requires uniforms. While I think it keeps the school structured and I don’t have to look at kids with pants sagging off their AS***, uniforms can be expensive. I have three children that will all be wearing uniforms this school year so I know what the bill is going to be. However when my kids are at home I let them dress as they wish, because I am all for freedom of expression. Another benefit to uniforms as someone has already mentioned, is that I do not have to listen to my girls argue with me about what they are going to wear that day but like I said, it does get expensive. As a stay at home dad I guess I will have to sell my body to pay for the uniforms..Come on ..I’m only kidding.. 🙂 Good post though S.S

I’m pro-uniforms. Expression outside of school is fine, inside it’s about education and being an educational team. Imagine a football team allow to wear whatever they like on the field – the uniform says who you are and where you belong.

This year, both of my daughters will be entering into 3rd and 1st grade. Their school has a lax dress code of no flip flops, cut off shorts, skimpy stuff, etc. Of course, they enjoy back to school shopping and honestly, so do I! A big change for our family is that my son will be entering a school district run preschool program. This program is not offered at my daughters’ school so he’ll be at another neighboring elementary school where uniforms are required. I purchased all of his pants and shorts today and I have to say, I already feel that he’ll be another little robot, all looking the same. Hopefully it will grow on me soon but so far, eh.

Jake’s first year of school uniforms was last year and it was incredibly easy to buy him clothes. They can wear solid colored slacks and only certain colored polo shirts, with no logos. They have to wear a belt. I appreciate that it puts everyone on the same level as far as fashion wise. Jake would like to wear his own clothes, but he doesn’t make it a big deal.

My youngest son did not have a dress code, but for the most part he wore what I put out the night before and therefore looked okay. I taught in a public middle school for many years. After some incidents with theft and awful clothing the PTA and the teachers got together and instituted a dress code of white tops and blue or black bottoms. I thought it worked out well.

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